Day 8 - Marathon 8 - 30th March 2013

Day 8 30th March 13 Leeds General to Halifax (in the end)

Great accommodation but still struggling to sleep! I did get a bit of sleep yesterday afternoon when we checked in. Karen took dad shopping in Harvey Nics! Dad has not been to any Harvey Nics for a good few years maybe decades and was non stop moaning about the price of everything especially a pair of Alexandra McQueen sandal things, why he was looking at them I do not know! Still my lack of pants and socks problem was remedied! Anyway, up at 6am, feeling very tired, pressed snooze a couple of times, out of bed at 6:15. Kit on very slowly and down to the gym. Right knee giving me jip so just did 15 minutes 4 mph walk on 10 incline to get my calves and heart working followed by 10 minutes good stretch. Back to the room, shower and down to breakfast. 2 toast, porridge, struggled to eat it, banana and a pecan pastry and 2 cups of tea. Felt ok which made a nice change. Had a quick chat with Vince from Gade Valley Harriers, he is off to Black Park Slough this morning for the Park 5k race followed a 17miler! Back to the room, tried to set the route up to avoid the very large hill that is on the current planned route. Completed Joel's warm up, normal routine with Kit and lotions, packed up, and down to check out. Great welcome yesterday and equally good send off today. Photos taken, given the Marriott collection, thank you, and off to the Leeds General Infirmary for 10am. Eventually found the Jubilee Wing and parked up. We were met by a Teenage Cancer Trust photographer and a local news paper photographer. All good, various positions adopted and almost done. At this point the TV crews turned up! This was unexpected, they then walked straight past me and into the reception. They were there to film a statement or something from the hospital general director regarding the closing of the childrens heart unit! On with our day, photos and start video taken by dad. Jason had to go home due to his grandad having a fall and snapping his hip! Dad and Karen now in charge of a not too easy route through Leeds and out past Huddersfield to a little village called Pecket Well. The weather was spring like +8 which was nice, as we left the hospital. 100 yards out sat nav sent them down a gated road! U turn and to the main set of lights, dad turn right correctly unfortunately the wrong side of the central bollard and straight into the cars waiting at the lights! All in slow motion and no danger just hilarious to watch. Eventually on the correct side of the road after a quite natty reversing manoeuvre and on our way. Possibly the worst start to any run so far! All duel carriage ways, massive roundabouts, motorway cross overs and loads of traffic! After a stressful few miles I ran up the A647 For 10k continually rising on a horrible duel carriageway! It was baking, I had a thermal on and was overheating rapidly. It flattened out a bit at 15k now rolling hills. Dad and Karen happier, I was happier and the road ahead looked ok. We then took a right at 22k and climbed and climbed and kept climbing into the snow and past a sign saying "Beware Mountain" at this point the wheels fell off! I did not have a lot in the tank to for the first 23k but managed to keep a pace of below 4"45/k, this rapidly changed and I was struggling to keep under 5"30! Long story short I willed my legs through the last 14k. The up hills were tough, the steep down hills were painful! Still, marathon completed just past Halifax after a bit of a route change and having lost dad and karen a while back as we entered the town, in 3'37"01 Over the 3'30 mark but nothing I could do! On the positive, what scenery! Fantastic, if it did not hurt so much I would have enjoyed it. Quick video taken, after they found me and in the van as the snow started and temperature plummeted. Dad drove the 65 miles to Southport via Costa and another lovely Hotel called VINCENT. Jan worked hard to get this and did a great job. The list of celebrities that have stayed here is long, The Hoff and Tom Cruz to name a few but now the list has been added by the legend, Tom Loddy! Dad was on top form last night at dinner with completely random and very funny stories that amazingly concluded with valid and relevant points! Today we had a coffee in the very nice Hotel bar and he apologised for taking us camping and not being able to take me to places like this when we were kids! I loved camping as a child and would not have swapped! Anyway, emotional moment over, I left dad and Karen there and I went up for a great shower and now icing calves, knees, hamstrings, hips, buttocks, back and thighs. Hot bath later and hopefully a relatively flat run into The Alder Hay Hospital in Liverpool tomorrow. Thanks to Oxbridge Flooring from Berkhamsted for being today's shirt sponsor, get your running shoes out Richard! Day 8 complete!

All routes should be uploaded from my garmin as soon as someone shows me how to do it!